We are ITZ, a design studio and a firm of master carpenters located in the heart of the Mayan tropical forest in Bacalar, Southeast Mexico, place that is notable for its extraordinary Seven—Colored Lagoon.

We specialize in producing high quality furniture from many different native species of tropical hardwood. These are very special pieces with personality, handmade with passion and care, with meticulous attention to the detail.

Our team is led by the designer Ania Wołowska whose projects are brought to life by talented local master carpenters, heirs to an ancient tradition of wood crafting.

Ania Wołowska is a Polish born designer with a master’s degree in Furniture Design. She is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland, and of Centro in Mexico City. At ITZ she combines a passion for thoughtful and honest design, simplicity of form, and admiration for craft techniques, also a profound respect for the materials she works with.

We named our company after the word itz in Maya, which means the resin of a tree, but it also refers to the sacred essence of all things. At ITZ our essence is the passion and integrity with which we create our furniture.

For ITZ sustainability is both a guiding principle and an aspiration, as we are continually improving our performance. We believe in quality: in having fewer possessions, but what we do have, should last us a lifetime.

Our wood comes from local communities (ejidos) with responsible forestry management programs and certificates and we are proud that our pieces are certified by the FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®), which promotes appropriate environmental management, with social benefits and economic viability for the forests of the world.

We are keen to make a positive contribution to the development of the region and we are convinced of the critical importance of preserving and promoting ancient woodworking skills, as well as benefitting the local communities directly through employment.